Smoker{40 s pipe with built-in gaseous fuel lighter

ABSTRACT

A smoker&#39;&#39;s pipe has a built-in lighter system comprising a source of pressurized gaseous fuel, an igniter at the top of the pipe bowl, a fuel gas conduit from the source to the igniter, and valve means operative both to control and to regulate ignition timing and the gas flow through the conduit. The igniter is of the battery electric type and is activated by a switch moving to closed position in response to movement of the valve means in performing its control function. In an alternative embodiment of the invention the igniter is of the piezoelectric type.

United States Patent Tucker 1 Oct. 17, 1972 [54] SMOKER'S'PIPE WITH BUILT-IN FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS GASEOUS FUEL LIGHTER 74,388 611952 Denmark ..131/185 [72] Inventor: Hale E. Tucker, 625 North Edge 717,514 10/1954 Great Britain ..43l/254 Park Drive, I-Iaddonfield, NJ.

03033 Primary Examiner-Joseph S. Reich [22] Filed: sapL 9, 1970 AttorneyDennison, Dennison, Townshend 8!.

Meserole [21] Appl. No.: 70,643 Y 1 I [57] 7 ABSTRACT A smokets has a built in system compris [5 t- -uAz4f a of an [58] Fleld of Search ..131/185; 431/254, 255 the top of the pipe bowl 3 f gas conduit from the source to the igniter, and valve means operative both [56] References (Med to control and to regulate ignition timing and the gas UNITED STATES PATENTS flow through the conduit. The igniter ie of the battery electric type and IS activatedby a switch moving to Fulton closed position in response to movement of the valve 1,849,795 3/1932 Fenton ..l3l/185 UX means in performing its control f ti In an alter 2,724,253 11/1955 Morgan "431/254 native embodiment of the invention the igniter is of 2,780,085 2/1957 Pei-1m ......431/254 X the piezoelectric type. a 3,402,723 9/1968 I-Iu ..131/l85 3,494,710 2/1970 Inagaki ..43l/255 X tiClaims, 10 Drawing, Figures i so 10 PATENTEDUCI 1 7 I972 SHEET 2 [IF 3 mvsn'ron HALTUCKER ATTORNEYS PATENTEOnm 17 m2 SHEET '3 0F 3 FIG. 10

ATTORNEYS SMOKER 'S PIPE WITH BUILT-IN GASEOUS FUEL LIGHTER BACKGROUND 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to smokers pipes in general, and in particular to pipes having self-contained means for lighting the tobacco charge to be smoked in the pipe bowl, thus eliminating the need for matches or portable lighters, and their associated inconvenience.

2. The Prior Art The broad combination of a pipe and built-in lighter is old in the art. The combination takes many forms embodying variations of the basic arrangement of a fuel reservoir, means for igniting fuel supplied from the reservoir, and means for feeding fuel from the reservoir to the igniter. For many years the art relied chiefly on pyrophoric igniters' of wick fed liquid fuel, incandescent wire igniters powered by batteries which heated and lit the tobacco by contact, and battery powered electric are or spark igniters of wick fed liquid fuel. All such known devices have certain disadvantages which have precluded their widespread acceptance and use.

In the portable lighter art, such as pocket and table lighters, the use of gaseous fuel has become increasingly popular, but so far as I am aware the smokers pipe art has not made any attempt to utilize gaseous fuel in pipes having built-in lighters. This may be due to fear of the explosion potential incident to the close proximity of a pressurized flammable gas supply source and an openly burning material being consumed in the adjacent bowl of the pipe, and the possibility of gas leakage from imperfectly sealed connections. Whatever the reason be, it is a fact that the prior art does not teach the use of flammable gaseous fuel in built-in pipe lighters. At the present time, liquefied butane is the fuel most frequently used in portable lighters. Of course, the problem of preventing gas leakage can be solved by using gas proof seals at all points where gas leakage might occur, and eliminating clearance tolerances between relatively movable parts, but such expedients so greatly increase production costs that retail sale price would be prohibitive.

The present invention constitutes an inexpensive, practical solution to the problem, one that eliminates the need of special seals and no-clearance tolerances between movable parts.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is a smokers pipe having'a self-contained gaseous fuel lighter on the rim of the pipe bowl. In operation, a stream of heavier than air gas fuel, preferably butane gas, is discharged across the top of the pipe bowl rim against the tobacco charge when a manually operated control valve is moved to open position. Immediately after the initial gas discharge, an igniter disposed within the issuing gas stream is operated to ignite the gas stream moving across the top of the packed charge with which the pipe bowl is filled. The gas fuel is fed continuously under its normal expansion pressure from a reservoir containing the gas in liquid state, so long as the control valve remains open. Due to the fact that discharge of the gas precedes its ignition, the gas, being heavier than air, will settle down on and over the top surface of the tobacco material in the bowl in contact therewith. In consequence, when the gas is ignited the flame is instantly in contact with and flames the material to be smoked, so that it is not necessary for the smoker to suck the burning gas down against the bowl charge as he must do when using a match or a portable lighter. When the initial pull or suction on the pipe is taken the bowl charge is already alight.

Furthermore, because of the fact that the gas passing through the control valve is heavier than air, any gas that may leak to the exterior of the pipe will fall. down away from the point of ignition and will never rise to that level. This characteristic of the gas dispenses with the need for special seal precautions and permits normal clearance tolerances between moving parts, particularly in the valve assembly. Butane is more than 2 times heavier than air.

In the illustrated embodiment of the invention, the control valve unit has combined therewith a switch for opening and closing a battery powered electrical circuit by which the igniter is operated in response to directional movement of the control valve.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a smoking pipe embodying my invention.

FIG. 2 is a side elevation, partly in section, on line 2-2 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary sectional view illustrating details of the fuel valve assembly.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view on line 4-4 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view illustrating a modification of the pipe bowl and base assembly.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view illustrating the location of the valve and switch actuator.

FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view of a modification illustrating an arrangement for recharging the igniter battery.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the upper portion of the pipe bowl equipped with an electric arc igniter.

FIG. 9 is a sectional view on line 9-9 of FIG. 6 illustrating an adaptation utilizing piezoelectric means for creating an are at the igniter shown in FIG. 8, and

. FIG. 10 is an elevation showing the hood with the gas passage and incandescent element.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The embodiment of the invention illustrated in FIGS. 1-4 and 6 comprises a bowl portion 10 and a base portion 11 from which a conventional stem 12 extends in connection with a bit 13. The base is laterally enlarged relative to the bowl to provide a pair of wings 14 and 15 preferably parallel to the longitudinal axis of the stem and at opposite sides of the bowl. The wing 14 is bored to provide a cylindrical chamber 16 open at the outer end of the base and nonnally closed by a removable metal plug 17 threaded into the outer end of the chamber. The chamber houses a battery 18 having its inner end terminal bearing against a spring contact strip 19 fixed in the inner end of the chamber, and having its outer end terminal in electrical contact with the The upper ends of the wires are connected by an incandescing resistance element 22 as in FIG. 10, housed within a protective hood 23 on the rim of the bowl and set back within the passage 24 to avoid damage thereto during filling of the pipe. The inner wall of the hood is provided with the vent passage 24 for the discharge of gas across the top of the bowl chamber 25.

The base wing 15 contains a fuel gas reservoir chamber 26 provided with a conventional valved filter plug 27 fixed therein with its apertured needle 28 directed toward the outer end of the chamber, which end is normally closed by a threaded sealing plug 29. When the closure plug is removed the chamber inwardly of the plug 27 may be filled with a charge of liquefied fuel gas in the conventional manner of charging lighters, thus making the reservoir chamber a supply source of fuel gas, in this case preferably butane C H A gas conduit 30 leads from the inner end of the chamber 26, through the body of the base 11, and up through the wall of the pipe bowl into communication with the interior of the igniter hood 23.

The base wing 15 also carries a combination gas flow control and regulating valve assembly, best shown in FIG. 3. This comprises a hollow cylindrical stem 31 movable on its axis under manual pressure applied to a push bottom head 32 located on the exterior of the base. The valve stem is slidable axially through a complemental passage in the base wall and also in the body of the base across the gas conduit 30. The length of the valve stem is such that when the valve is in normal closed position the inner end portion of the stem extends across and closes the gas conduit and extends also into a switch chamber 33 where it bears against the leaf spring contact strip 35 of a switch for controlling operation of the igniter. The other contact strip 34 of the switch normally is spaced from contact 35 so that the switch is open. The inner end portion of the valve stem has a transverse diametrical passage 36 which, in the closed position of the valve, is entirely out of registry with the gas conduit. When the button 32 is pushed inwardly the passage 36 moves into registry with the gas conduit and the control valve is in open position. A biasing spring 37 returns the valve to closed position when pressure on the button is removed.

The control valve stem 31 is provided with an axial bore into which the stem 38 of a gas flow regulator 39 is threaded for axial adjustment when the button 32 to which stem 38 is fixed is appropriately rotated. The flow regulator 39 as here shown has a conical tip on the inner end of stem 38 and is disposed in and across the passage 36. The extent to which the cone 39 obstructs passage 36 determines the rate of gas flow through the passage, when the valve is opened.

It is apparent from FIG. 3 that the time interval between the opening of the fuel gas control valve and the closing of the igniter circuit is determined by the extent of the distance between the switch contacts 34 and 35. This distance assures that gas will begin to issue from the lighter vent 24 slightly before the igniter is activated.

In the modification shown in FIG. the bowl is detachable from the base as by a screw, to enable interchange of various shaped bowls at the option of the smoker; of course gas and electrical connectors are provided as shown. In all other particulars the pipe is as stated in the foregoing-description.

The modification shown in FIG. 7 incorporates means for recharging the battery. This is conventional in the small appliance art and includes a detachable connector having a socket 40 in the base 11 for receiving a plug 41 connected by conductor wires 42 from an electrical power source 43. Such systems are frequently used with electric razors. Incorporation of this battery recharging system is optional.

As shown in FIG. 8, the igniter may be of the electric arc type having spaced apart electrodes 44 and 45 for bridging by an are when the igniter is activated. A suitable activator for creating an arc across the igniter electrodes is the piezoelectric arc generator made by the Electronics Component Division of Matsushita Electric, Kadoma, Osaka, Japan, identified commercially as EFl-ECl. This item is obtainable on the open market. It is operated by manual projection of a spring retracted plunger indicated at 46 in FIG. 9, in which the arc generator, being of known construction, is designated by the general reference character 47. This device may conveniently be located as shown in FIGS. 6 and 9, such that the inner end of the control valve stem 31' engages the plunger 46 and moves it to operate the arc generator 47 when the button 32 is manipulated to open the gas conduit control valve. Such piezoelectric generators require stress of deformation of the crystal elements to generate the required voltage. Usually a composition resistor is inserted in the circuit to extend the discharge period. These circuits themselves, being conventional in the art form no part of this invention.

Iclaim:

1. In a pipe having a bowl, means in the pipe body operative to discharge fuel gas across the top of the bowl, and means in the pipe body for igniting the discharged fuel gas.

2. In combination, a smokers pipe, a pressurized fuel gas supply source in the pipe body, an igniter in the pipe body, means providing a conduit in the pipe body in communication at one end with the gas supply source and at its other end with the igniter, a control valve in the conduit means an operator for the valve and having a manually actuated portion extending to the exterior of the pipe body, and a connection between the valve operator and the igniter operative by the valve when said valve is moved to open position whereby to activate the igniter following opening of the valve.

3. In the combination recited in claim 2, said connection being an electrical circuit including an igniter element incandescent while the circuit is closed.

4. In the combination recited in claim 2, said connection including means for producing an electric arc at the igniter.

5. In a pipe having a base, a bowl thereon having a rim and extending thereabove, and a stem extending from the base: an electrical igniter on the rim of the bowl, a reservoir for liquefied gas fuel in the base, means providing a gas conduit in the base and the wall of the bowl for conveying gas under expansion pressure from the reservoir to the igniter, a control valve in the conduit, said valve having a manually operative actuator disposed externally of the base.

6. In a pipe as defined in claim 5, an electrical circuit including the igniter, a switch in said circuit and movable to a closed position to actuate the igniter, means in- 3,698,400 eluding said valve actuator on the exterior of the pipe for operating the switch to closed position, and means biasing the switch to open position. 

1. In a pipe having a bowl, means in the pipe body operative to discharge fuel gas across the top of the bowl, and means in the pipe body for igniting the discharged fuel gas.
 2. In combination, a smoker''s pipe, a pressurized fuel gas supply source in the pipe body, an igniter in the pipe body, means providing a conduit in the pipe body in communication at one end with the gas supply source and at its other end with the igniter, a control valve in the conduit means, an operator for the valve and having a manually actuated portion extending to the exterior of the pipe body, and a connection between the valve operator and the igniter operative by the valve when said valve is moved to open position whereby to activate the igniter following opening of the valve.
 3. In the combination recited in claim 2, said connection being an electrical circuit including an igniter element incandescent while the circuit is closed.
 4. In the combination recited in claim 2, said connection including means for producing an electric arc at the igniter.
 5. In a pipe having a base, a bowl thereon having a rim and extending thereabove, and a stem extending from the base: an electrical igniter on the rim of the bowl, a reservoir for liquefied gas fuel in the base, means providing a gas conduit in the base and the wall of the bowl for conveying gas under expansion pressure from the reservoir to the igniter, a control valve in the conduit, said valve having a manually operative actuator disposed externally of the base.
 6. In a pipe as defined in claim 5, an electrical circuit including the igniter, a switch in said circuit and movable to a closed position to actuate the igniter, means including said valve actuator on the exterior of the pipe for operating the switch to closed position, and means biasing the switch to open position. 